A new era of space activity is unfolding every day before our eyes. An increasing number of nation-states and private sector actors are now capable of deploying a wide array of space technologies to low Earth orbit, Moon and beyond. The economic, scientific, and societal potential of today’s space renaissance has unlocked fresh opportunities for unprecedented innovation and international strategic cooperation beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
The Space Diplomacy Lab (SDL), located in the Sanford School of Public Policy, provides a forum for a multidisciplinary set of academics, students, policy practitioners, and private companies interested in space science and technology, space economy, security, and international diplomacy to discuss the future of space exploration and commerce and develop research and policy proposals to ensure a secure and sustainable future of activities and humanity in space.
The SDL is currently involved in conversations and projects concerning geopolitical, geoeconomic, and geotech issues in the space domain. These include: International diplomatic initiatives, from the Outer Space Treaty to the Artemis Accords; Policy and economic implications of the rapidly increasing number of new spacefaring nations; The Moon rush: opportunities and risks of scientific, extractive, and security activities on the Moon and cislunar space; Space debris/constellations: policy and technology advances - Scientific concerns (in collaboration with the Cosmology group); The future of Space Ports and Space Stations.
Since its launch in 2022, the SDL has been collaborating with academic units and students’ groups at Duke and beyond. In April 2025, the Lab co-organized with the Bass Connections Project “The Future of Space Settlements: Lessons from History”, the Duke Center on Risk, and the Cosmology Group the first Duke Space Symposium.